Q:
Jeff Babcock,
Manitowoc, WI
- Bob,
Great to see you doin a chat. So the big question is; does Peppers have anything left?

A: Bob McGinn
- Jeff: It's a very good question. I really don't know. He just turned 34 and has been fairly free of injuries during a 12-year career. His body is magnificent. He definitely still looks the part. But other than the two games that he played against the Packers (and in all likelihood certainly weighed heavily in the Packers' decision to go for him) and one against Minnesota, he didn't do a lot in 2013. The STATS numbers for knockdowns and hurries for 2013 were illuminating. Peppers had 16 1/2, and he played 81.7% of the Bears' snaps, too. That tied him for 78th place in the league with Connor Barwin, ILB Karlos Dansby, Von Miller, NT Dontari Poe and Antonio Smith. Mike Neal led GB with 18 1/2 followed by Mike Daniels with 17 1/2, Clay Matthews with 16 and Datone Jones with 11 1/2. Robert Quinn led the NFL with 56. In this free agent class, Justin Tuck had 40, Jared Allen had 38, Jason Babin had 32, Michael Johnson had 31, Lamarr Houston had 29 1/2, DeMarcus Ware had 29 1/2 and Willie Young had 26 1/2. This number reflects consistency of pass-rush pressure. The sack total is less significant. I'd bet 20% of sacks are garbage, and another 20% were set up by teammates. But to sign Peppers Thompson and his people would have examined every game Peppers played this year and probably for several years before that. They have the expertise. Now they need to be right.

Q:
John,
West Allis
- Hi Bob, any chance the packers try to persuade Jared Allen into a one to two year deal or is TT done writing checks for the 30 plus club?

A: Bob McGinn
- John: Forget that. It was either or. Besides, Allen wants a lot more money than Peppers settled for here. As a third-down pass rusher with his hand down. 20 to 25 snaps a game, I'd prefer Allen over Peppers. Just in that very narrow niche. But it's difficult to evaluate any of this because no one can be sure what the Packers' scheme will be on defense this year. Last year, they didn't allow their outside rushers in sub defenses to put his hand down. I assume they'll change that because that's what Peppers does. He isn't a LB; at least he has never been one. I sure don't see Peppers, at 34, playing early downs as a 4 or 5 technique and keeping blockers away from somebody like AJ Hawk. Peppers needs to play less, not more. Let Raji and Guion and Boyd eat up the blocks, or handle the run schematically in different ways than Dom Capers has done (and done unsuccessfully four straight years). Just don't waste Peppers in that way.

Q:
Jeff,
France
- Hi Mr. McGinn, thx for the chat. Do the signing of Peppers + Raji signal the end for Picket, Wilson and Jolly? or do we still have the room for another wide-body in some sub-packages?

A: Bob McGinn
- Jeff: Probably is over for Pickett, Wilson and Jolly in GB. At 26, Guion is 8 years younger than Pickett. He's probably not as good, but no telling how Pick would play in 2014. Jolly must be cleared medically. Wilson is too solid not to find employment elsewhere. Mike McCarthy seemed dead set on playing Neal at DT in some sub stuff. Counting Neal, that gives them 8 serviceable D-linemen under contract. McCarthy wanted more chase from his DL. Guion has shown some of that. The entire organization wanted taller D-ends with longer arms. That works against the three aforementioned players as well.

Q:
Ken ,
Farley Ia
- Hi Bob
Is this another Joe Johnson signing, or is there something left in the tank?
Thanks Ken

A: Bob McGinn
- Ken: Forgot about Joltin' Joe. He was Mike Sherman's Waterloo ... maybe Peppers will produce like John Abraham did for Arizona this year. A DE in Atlanta, he went to the Cards as an OLB in a 3-4. Peppers won't be doing that (at least I don't think he will). Abraham was 34, same age as Peppers, when he signed a two-year, $5.1M deal ($1M guaranteed) with new coach Bruce Arians. He played 79.7% of the downs and had 11 1/2 sacks! Wow. Another old pass rusher, Dwight Freeney, was 33 when he signed in March 2013 with SD. He wrecked his quad after 4 games and was done. Freeney's two-year deal contained $4.75M in guarantees (Peppers is guaranteed $7.5M). James Harrison was 34 when he went to Cinn. He tried to play Sam backer in a 4-3 for the first time, proved to be invisible and was cut. I looked at other aging DEs (34 and over) in my free agent rankings over the years. The list included Greg Ellis and Leonard Little in 2011 and Kevin Carter and Jason Taylor in 2009. Not much there. Abraham's achievement was amazing in 2013.

A: Bob McGinn
- JKM: It's natural to be excited. Peppers is a marvelous athlete. The Packers have done extremely well with D-linemen in free agency over two decades: Reggie White, Sean Jones, Santana Dotson, John Thierry, Joe Johnson (NOT!), Ryan Pickett. But none of those guys was 34 years old, either. Here's what an NFL personnel man told me last night: "Peppers just got lost (in 2013). At times, he's still hard to stop. Their (the Bears') D-line didn't play well as a unit. They're just looking for someone opposite Matthews. If he (Peppers) is single-blocked he should be able to do that." But remember also what Ted Thompson always says: "The NFL is a hard business." I'd add that left tackles get better and better in pass pro, and so do blocking schemes. In the NFL, if you think something is too good to be true, it probably isn't.

A: Bob McGinn
- Tim: Like I mentioned in the introduction, I only counted guys that made it to the start of free agency March 11 at 3 p.m. Shields re-signed before that; thus, he wasn't considered. I wait to do the rankings unlike other news outlets. This way, there can be an accurate picture of what GMs were looking at when FA started. Also, the host of good players that get cut right near the deadline can be included.

Q:
Steve P,
Chicago
- Since Guion and Peppers were both cut by their former teams and considered street free agents" does that mean that they don't count in the compensatory pick formula? Does that mean as it stands now then the Packers would get a couple of later picks for the Jones and Dietrich Smith losses? Thanx

A: Bob McGinn
- Steve: As I understand it, that's correct, Peppers and Guion do not count because they were cut. As UFAs, Jones and EDS will count in the Packers' behalf in the 2015 draft. Excellent, incisive point. Thanks. ... amazed that among the hundreds and hundreds of queries here there are very few questions regarding Guion. He's not as big (6-3 1/2, 315) a nose tackle as the Packers are used to using: Pickett, Raji, Howard Green, to name a few wide bodies. But what I was told last night is he has tremendous natural strength and almost 35-inch arms. He can run a little, too. Now it remains to be seen if the Packers can get the best out of him. He will require constant attention from the coaching staff and the entire support staff. Basic things in life don't always come easily for Guion. He will make mistakes, short-circuit in some stunt/twist situations, drive people batty. But he's also a pretty good kid and, if monitored and directed to the nth degree, can be a solid contributor. The Vikings didn't want to deal with all of that anymore. They did it for six years. Now it's Mike McCarthy's turn to take it on.

Q:
Nik,
Milwaukee
- Bob, we loved your Panther game stories during the Horizon League tournament. It was too bad UWM had to steamroll UWGB to get there, but what a game that was across the street from Lambeau Field! Speaking of, how would you compare the atmosphere on that Saturday night in the Resch to a Sunday noon kickoff when the Bears are in town across the street? You've mentioned lately that the Lambeau crowd isn't as loud as it used to be. How were things east of Oneida?

A: Bob McGinn
- Nik: Covering UWM and UWGB was a delicious diversion for me, and I thank sports editor Mike Davis for assigning me. I also got to do a boys sectional final between Kimberly and Germantown. These games brought me back to my roots as a college basketball and prep beat writer. Funny, but I can recall some of those games between 1975 and say 1983 better than a lot of Packer games. Anyway, the uwm-uwgb crowd at the Resch was raucous. An emailer told me of some troubling things that were said around the uwm bench that, if true, were appalling. Unlike many college venues, alcohol has always been served at Phoenix games. By the second half, that changes the dynamic of the crowd, seldom for the better in my opinion .. well, thanks for the all the interest. Just wish I could have responded to more of you, faithful readers. Think spring! BOB McGINN